Back mount for wall-mounted plumbing fixture

ABSTRACT

Shown and described is a device for back a plumbing fixture, in particular to a wall, essentially comprising a mounting rail preferably made of metal, which contains a large number of holes, slots or the like provided for the wall mounting and to the mounting of mounting plates for a plumbing fixture, the two rail longitudinal edges being designed as attachment zones offset from the mounting level. 
     The object of the invention is to create a new device for back mounting a plumbing fixture with which in a simple fashion a number of a plumbing fixture can be mounted to a wall with precisely the same spacing from each other and in a precise arrangement to each other. 
     The solution of the object is the result of at least one rail longitudinal edge having a plurality of notches, slots, slits or the like, and that the mounting plates are provided with holes corresponding to the notches, slots, slits or the like, in which the screws are mounted which are fixed by anchor blocks, whereby the mounting plates are brought into a defined premounting position by the hanging of the windings of the screws in the notches of the mounting rails.

The invention relates to a back mount for a plumbing fixture, in particular behind a wall, essentially comprising a mounting rail made preferably of metal and formed with an array of holes, slots or the like provided for the wall mounting of mounting plates for a plumbing fixture, the two rail longitudinal edges being designed as attachment zones offset from the attachment plane.

Such a device is generally known for example from EP 0,824,170, in which a mounting device is described for a connector fitting to wall mount a plumbing fixture. This system is disadvantageous in that it is very difficult and time-consuming using this device to mount a number of a plumbing fixture using this device on this device in precisely the same spacing from each other.

Proceeding from the above state of the art, the object of the invention thus is to provide a new device for back-mounting a plumbing fixture with which in a simple fashion a number of plumbing fixtures can be mounted to a wall with precisely the same spacing from each other and in a precise orientation to one another.

The object is attained by the features of claim 1, in particular the features of the characterizing clause, according to which at least one rail longitudinal edge has an array of notches, slots, slits or the like, and that the mounting plates are provided with holes arrayed like the notches, slots, slits or the like, in which screws engage that are fixed in anchor blocks, the mounting plates being brought into a defined premounting position by hanging the threaded shanks of the screws in the notches of the mounting rails.

The inventive device for back mounting a plumbing fixture has the crucial advantage that merely by hanging the mounting plate of a sanitary element a precise prepositioning of each individual sanitary component is achieved. Using the above it is possible in a simple and quick fashion to also attach a number of plumbing fixtures at a corresponding precise spacing and height.

In one embodiment of the invention, the other rail longitudinal edge is provided with a row of holes for mounting the mounting plate. The additional holes serve to provide improved mounting of the mounting plates of a plumbing fixture.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has notches, slots, slits or the like in the one rail longitudinal edge and/or holes in the other rail longitudinal edge which have the same spacing from one another. Due to this grid dimension, it is very easy for the professional plumber to install a number of plumbing fixtures on a device for the recessed mounting of a plumbing fixture in a desired spacing from each other.

In an especially preferred embodiment of the invention, the attachment zone of the mounting plates has depending on the installed depth of the recessed fitting and end fitting a different spacing from the wall-engaging part of the mounting rail. This advantageously guarantees that the front surfaces projecting into the space of a plurality of end fittings can also be mounted as much as possible on one level.

Finally, in another embodiment of the invention, two or more mounting rails can be secured together using in the area of the rail longitudinal edges in the mounting bars existing notches or holes in a line or at a right angle to each other. The above makes it possible not only to guarantee the same spacing between sanitary components horizontally in a very simple fashion, but also to maintain a matching vertical grid dimension when mounting a plumbing fixture on a wall.

Additional advantages of the invention are found in the following subclaims and from the description of the embodiments. Therein:

FIG. 1 shows a back mount for a plumbing fixture,

FIG. 2 shows a mounting rail that is part of the device according to FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 shows a mounting plate that is part of the device according to FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 shows an anchor block or mounting bar that is part of a device according to FIG. 1,

FIG. 5 a schematic section in the premounting position of mounting rail and mounting plate.

FIG. 6 shows a cruciform configuration of devices according to FIG. 1,

FIG. 7 is a large-scale view of a detail of FIG. 6, and

FIG. 8 is a view like FIG. 6 but including recessed and surface fittings.

In the drawings, a back mount for a plumbing fixture is designated throughout with the number 10.

Such a device comprises primarily as shown by FIGS. 1 and 2 a mounting rail 11. The mounting rail 11 comprises a wall-engaging web 12 and rail longitudinal edges 13 a and 13 b that are offset by a spacing a from a wall W. The upwardly extending rail longitudinal edge 13 a is formed notches 14 set at a uniform spacing b, while the lower rail longitudinal edge 13 b is also formed with a row of holes 15 at the spacing b. For example, the grid dimension can equal 30 mm. The wall-engaging web 12 of the mounting rail 11 is also provided with uniformly spaced arrays L that each comprise two horizontal slots 16 and a vertical slot 17.

Finally, the wall-engaging web 12 is formed between adjacent slot arrays L with pairs of mounting holes 18.

Mounting plates 19 (see FIGS. 1 and 3) are secured to the mounting rail 11 and each have a central web 21 formed with holes 20 and right-angle attachment parts 22 on the edges and formed with holes 23. A back-mounted fitting 24 is secured to the central web 21 by means of the holes 20. In addition, two screws 19 engage through the holes 23 of the upper edge and are screwed into threaded holes B of a respective anchor block 26.

At the time of the preassembly of the mounting plate 19 with the fitting 24 on a mounting rail 11 there exists as shown in particular by FIG. 5 between the anchor block 26 and a confronting face 27 of the screw 25 a spacing c that is greater that respective thicknesses M₁ and M₂ of the mounting rail 11 and the mounting plate 19. This makes it possible for the mounting plate 19 including the recessed fitting 24 to hung from above on the mounting rail 11 so that it immediately and automatically can be brought into a precisely aligned preassembly position.

FIGS. 6 and 8 further represent an embodiment of the inventive device for back mounting a plumbing fixture 10, in which three mounting rails 11 are secured together by mounting bars 28 (see also FIG. 4)—corresponding to the previously referenced anchor blocks 26—at right angles to one another and also in the standard grid spacing. In this case, as shown in particular by FIG. 6 but also in the large-scale view of FIG. 7 four mounting bars 28 are mounted in the area of the rail longitudinal edges 13 a, 13 b by screws 29 in such a fashion that ends of the mounting bars 28 extend longitudinally from the horizontally running mounting rails 11. The ends of the mounting bar 28 from the mounting rails 11 have holes B that receive respective screws 30, with which the mounting bar 28 is anchored in a notch/hole 14/15 of the vertical mounting rail 11.

Finally, FIG. 8 shows an embodiment according to FIGS. 6 and 7 in which surface fittings are represented schematically along with the recessed fittings 24 mounted on the mounting plates 19. Here one can see on the horizontal mounting rails 11 a hand shower connection 31, two flow controls 32 for the hand shower 31, three side shower jets 34, and a thermostatic control 33.

In addition, this drawing shows clearly that in order to offset the insufficient depth of the side showers 34 with respect to the hand shower connectors 31 or the thermostat 33, the respective mounting plate 19 x is equipped in such a way that a spacing dx between the mounting plate 19 x and the wall-engaging web 12 is distinctly greater. This makes it possible to compensate for the different install depths of the recessed fittings 24 and the end fittings 31-34. 

1-6. (canceled)
 7. A mount for securing a plumbing fixture to a vertical wall, the mount comprising: a rail having a web adapted to be fixed to the wall and an upper edge spaced outward from the wall and formed with a row of upwardly directed recesses set at a uniform predetermined spacing; a mounting plate having a web adapted to be fixed to the fixture and formed with a pair of throughgoing holes separated by the spacing; an anchor block between the upper edge and the wall and formed with threaded holes separated by the spacing and aligned with two of the recess and with the holes of the mounting plate; and respective screws engaging through the holes of the mounting plate, through the respective recesses aligned therewith, and threaded into the holes of the anchor block.
 8. The mount defined in claim 7 wherein the rail has a lower edge formed with a row or holes.
 9. The mount defined in claim 8 wherein the holes of the lower edge are relatively offset from one another by the spacing.
 10. The mount defined in claim 8, further comprising a second such rail and at least two more of the mounting plates securing the recesses and holes of the second such rail to those of the first-mentioned rail with the second rail extending in line with or perpendicular to the first rail.
 11. The mount defined in claim 10 wherein the formations in the upper edge have a spacing perpendicular to a longitudinal extension of the rail from the holes in the lower edge that is equal to the predetermined spacing.
 12. The mount defined in claim 8 wherein the web of the rail is planar and flatly engages the wall and the upper and lower edges are planar flanges that are coplanar with each other, flank the web of the rail, and are perpendicularly offset from the web of the rail by a spacing at least equal to a thickness of the anchor block.
 13. The mount defined in claim 12 wherein the web of the mounting plate is planar and parallel to the web of the rail and the mounting plate has upper and lower edges formed with the respective holes and forming planar flanges that are coplanar with each other, flank the web of the plate, and are perpendicularly offset from the web of the plate oppositely to the offset of the flanges of the rail from the web of the rail.
 14. The mount defined in claim 8 wherein the web of the rail is formed with vertical and horizontal slots through which it is screwed to the wall. 